-is it true that the timed, automatic control valves will not hold up in exterior sunny, hot conditions? NO. There are environmental (outdoor) covers available for Fleck and other industry standard control valves. You'd be served to provide some protection from the elements regardless of the brand of softener you choose. Some type of small shed or enclosure built against an exterior house wall would be fine. -is the Kinetico system sized correctly? Maybe. It is not uncommon for softener sellers to be oblivious to SFR requirements. -does Fleck also makes an on demand valve? How well does it work and would you recommend it? Yes they do. Timer based valves are very old technology and markedly less efficient than contemporary demand initiated designs. Pretty much EVERY control valve manufacturer makes and recommends a demand initiated control valve now days. -during a power outage, would we have water on the electric controlled valve? Or is that what the bypass would be for? Yes you would have soft water during a power outrage. The only advantage to the Kinetico design control valve is that it does not require electricity to regenerate. Contemporary control valves that require AC power only use AC power during regeneration at only a certain intervals during regeneration. An adequately sized uniterruptable power supply (UPS) used for computers work nicely on softeners to ride out intermittent power interruptions as long as the power isn't out all day. -If we go with Fleck, what size system will we need? Always size a softener for the maximum hardness the water system will have. I'd prefer to have test results from your location rather than the water authority. Their test point is miles of pipe away from your home. PH is a touch high. Need a better test for SFR... with your results it's 15gpm. Use a tub and open both hot and cold. In your circumstances you are kind of a captive audience and it sounds like the Kinetico dealer is your only option if you aren't willing or able to do some work. If the Kinetico dealer has a good reputation around your area they may be your best (only?) choice, but bear in mind that if they have a bad rep for service after the sale then you may be buying a $3000 door stop.

Thank you for the extra info. I'm not seeing any big issues with your water quality, the conductivity, and chlorine levels will affect my recommendation. First, you should be looking for a 2.0 cubic ft softener. Once in place it should be regenerated with 8 lb salt per cubic ft of resin. Better salt efficiency could be achieved regenerating with a lower salt dose, but you conductivity is high enough that a lower salt dose would result in enough hardness bleed that you would notice it. A 2.0 cubic ft softener will regen every 10 days with 4 people in the house, and every 8 days with 5 people in the house. As you speak to vendors, you want to specify the following for an industry standard softener. If you are looking for a non-electronic softener, Kinetico offers the more reliable options at a premium price (and you would need to deal with a local Kinetico rep). Any decent softener vendor should be able to provide the following: High quality American or German made resin. This will provide a tight size distribution for optimal flow within the resin Since you have CITY WATER: 10% crosslinked resin. The oxidizers that city water treatment plants use, such as chlorine or chloramine, are harmful to softener resins. Higher crosslinking will resist chemical attack longer. Top basket. This serves two purposes. It sets up a proper water distribution during normal operation and prevents resin loss during backwash. Gravel underbed. The gravel underbed is there to set up proper flow patterns, improve backwash, keep the bottom basket in place, prevent basket failure, and prevent channeling. Many softener sales companies like to leave this out or sell softeners with a vortex system instead. Vortex systems weigh less than gravel so they cost less to ship. In addition, they are a more expensive item that adds profit for the softener salesperson, but provides no additional benefit to the homeowner . It simply adds another piece of equipment that can break. Fleck or Clack valves. These set the industry standard. Be aware that you will not be able to purchase Clack valves online. This is not a problem if you purchase locally. If you go with a Fleck valve, it should be the 7000sxt. A 5600sxt has 3/4" internal porting and is too small for the tank you will need. The valve should regen based on water usage, not time. Noryl bypass. Most softeners are available with either Noryl or stainless bypass valves. Both are good valves, but the noryl tends to be more reliable when not used for long periods of time. Install the softener with a three-valve bypass. This will make it so much easier if you ever need to remove the softener for repairs or wish to take it with you when you move. Use full-port, quarter-turn valves. I would speak to local water treatment pros first to see what they can offer. For most people, a local pro is a good idea. If you intend to DIY, be cognizant of the fact that the buck stops with...

The cycle settings are BW, BD, BW, RR, and are accessible in the Master Programming Mode. Control valve programming is applied by either the wholesale distributor who supplies the valve when the seller orders a complete softener (then the wholesale distributor knows the resin capacity) or by the seller if they order discrete softener components. There are two ways to know that the settings were not changed from the way the valve was delivered to the seller from the wholesale distributor IF the seller ordered a complete softener... 1. Be there to see with your own eyes that they weren't. 2. Ask the person who installed and programmed the softener if those specific settings were changed (if YES, then what were the settings?) and rely on that person to accurately recall if they were and/or to tell you the truth. "If the effect is so detrimental, what would be that persons reason for changing these or am I missing something?" Not detrimental so much, but rather correct or not. The reason for an installer changing any setting is that they (think they) know how to program the softener and as experience has proven... very, very few softener installers know how to program a softener correctly for efficiency and even fewer know how to correctly size a softener. Isn't that why you're here in this forum? Of the things you (should) have learned from your questions in this thread and your other investigations is that you are not going to size or program your softener as the seller supplies it yet you didn't do the one thing you had to to make sure they didn't change something you wouldn't want changed and that was to be there during installation to make sure. Now we have a variable introduced and all the correct programming (for efficiency) information I have supplied you is dependent on the regeneration cycle settings being correct. I regret rubbing salt in the wound but you opened the bag of salt...

The need/desire for a carbon filter depends entirely on what you may wish to remove from your water. If you are concerned about purely a taste issue, a point-of-use filter is a better option than a whole-house carbon filter, particularly one that has been in service elsewhere, removed, stored, etc. Depending upon the amount of time and conditions of storage and the water in it, it could be contaminated with any number of things. You city's water report indicates that you do have a small amount of iron and manganese. Theoretically, those will be oxidized by the chlorine the city ads and fall out of solution as small particulate. However, since chlorination rates can vary, we will need to assume they stay in the water in order to properly size the softener. You estimated 75 gallons per person per day. Is this based on metered water usage, or is it just a guess? Typical water usage is closer to 60 gallons per person per day. If 75 g/p/d is accurate, you will land solidly in the 3 cuft (96k grains) softener size. If 60 is accurate, you could get away with a 2 cuft softener, but a 2.5 would be better. Your calculations came up with a smaller size because you did not take into account the fact that softener capacity is dependent upon salt dosage. The following requirements are for an industry standard softener. If you are looking for a non-electronic softener, Kinetico offers the more reliable options at a premium price (and you would need to deal with a local Kinetico rep). Any decent softener vendor should be able to provide the following: High quality American or German made resin. This will provide a tight size distribution for optimal flow within the resin, longer resin life and more reliable, predictable water softening. It will be better for you to install your own resin - things shift during shipping. Since you have CITY WATER: 10% crosslinked resin. The oxidizers that city water treatment plants use, such as chlorine or chloramine, are harmful to softener resins. Higher crosslinking will resist chemical attack longer. Top basket. This serves two purposes. It sets up a proper water distribution during normal operation and prevents resin loss during backwash. Gravel underbed. The gravel underbed is there to set up proper flow patterns, improve backwash, keep the bottom basket in place, prevent basket failure, and prevent channeling. Many softener sales companies like to leave this out or sell softeners with a vortex system instead. Vortex systems weigh less than gravel so they cost less to ship. In addition, they are a more expensive item that adds profit for the softener salesperson, but provides no additional benefit to the homeowner . It simply adds another piece of equipment that can break. Fleck or Clack valves. These set the industry standard. Be aware that you will not be able to purchase Clack valves online. This is not a problem if you purchase locally. The valve should regen...